


Hope for the Hopeless

by votefornikki



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - No Zombie Apocalypse, F/M, Falling In Love, Romance, bethyl
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-02
Updated: 2015-04-04
Packaged: 2018-03-20 20:36:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3664083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/votefornikki/pseuds/votefornikki
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Beth Greene was starting over. But not without obstacles along the way. Swearing off love, she finds herself smacked in the face with the one thing she thought she did not want anymore.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Beth Greene

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time writing a fanfiction. So please be nice. Hope you like it though.

Beth Greene wanted a fresh start. She moved out of the farm house she grew up in to see more of the world. Well, in this case, more of Georgia. She decided that she needed a break from the farm life. Re-brand herself. She no longer wants to be seen as the good farmer’s daughter who was cheated on by her supposed to be best friend/ boyfriend.  She did not see this one coming. Jimmy was her person, her confidante, her best friend. She loved him. And so finding him in a very awkward position with the football quarterback, Zach, came as a complete shocker. Again, she did not see that coming. I mean, she had her life planned around Jimmy. They were going to go to the same college. Get hitched. Have kids. It was simple. It wasn't head over heels romantic but it was a real plan. It made sense (well, made sense at the time anyway). Who needs romance anyway? Not her. Not anymore. Love is just for stupid people who want to make a fool of themselves. So if being in love means being hurt, then no thank you.

So ok. She didn’t love Jimmy the way movies portrayed love. That kind of love is full of crap anyway. Boy meets girl. Girl meets boy. Girl turned out to be boy’s soul mate or something. They do it. Shit happens. And then the boy finds himself chasing the girl through the airport. Gets past all the security. Gets to the girl. Shouts out a bunch of clichés. They kiss. And for some reason, the whole airport starts clapping. Well guess what, it doesn’t happen that way. Sorry to rain on your parade, but what kind of sick a world are you living in if you believe in that kind of love. The heart goes lub-dub. It pumps blood all over your body so you won’t die. That is its sole purpose. Don’t read too much into it. If Beth really thought about it, she didn’t get any adrenaline rush when she was with Jimmy. No slow motion sequence. Not even a tachycardia episode. Jimmy was there. He was a constant in her life. He was secure. And there is nothing more romantic than that. Right?

Beth was thinking along those lines while she was clearing out boxes. She just got the last of her things from the farm that she was bringing with her. She is still going to go to The University of Georgia. She didn't care that Jimmy and Zach were also going there. It wasn't about them anymore. It was about her. Her life. Besides, the campus is bound to be big right? What are the chances that they were going to bump into each other? One in a million.

But of course, Beth being Beth, she decided to check out the campus first. See the buildings where she has her classes. She was excited. It took her mind off of Jimmy’s limp form while Zach was pounding away. Nope, she wasn't thinking about that. That is until she literally bumped into them. Now, there is no way she can take that picture off her mind. They were right there in front of her. Given, they weren't really doing the deed as of the moment, but, you get my drift. “Hey Beth. Look, we still haven’t talked about what happened. I know I hurt you but..”. “You know what Jimmy, screw you”. And she just walked away. It wasn't a smart retort but she was ambushed by the moment. Her one in a million chance just happened. If she had known, she would've just bought a lottery ticket instead of going into campus. But she didn't know and now the betrayal just clawed its way back to her heart. She went back to her apartment building and ran into what felt like a brick wall. “Sorry, I…”, she looked up and what stood in front of her just made the next words she was about to say just whoosh out of her head. He was tall.. and lean.. and his arms.. oh his arms… He had this rugged thing going on. One thing’s for sure. He is no Jimmy. She was lost in her thoughts when, “Watch where you’re going, would ya!!”, he practically spat and then he just walked away.  Beth was left dumbfounded. Talk about rude.


	2. Daryl Dixon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daryl was contented with his life. No one to think of but himself. The universe has other plans though. And it comes in the form of a petite young blonde who would claw her way to his life.

What does it take to be a Dixon? Well, first off, you need to be a jackass. Not just with your immediate family but with everyone. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree or whatever shit people just associates with the name. Daryl doesn’t mind the association though. In fact, he thrives in it. Being a Dixon has its perks. No one ever tries to cross you. Sure people throw glances full of judgment at you when they think you’re not looking. But they leave you alone for the most part. But Daryl has never been “Dixon” enough. Not to his late shithead of a father. Not to his good for nothing mom. Not even to his drifter of a brother. Nope! Daryl is too soft to be called a Dixon. Or that’s what he kept hearing from his family growing up.

But Daryl came to terms with that. He was an outsider, whichever way you see it. To the town, he is nothing but trouble, he’s a Dixon after all. To his family, he was a pussy, a softy, a push over. Not good enough to be called a Dixon. Yet, he found that he liked it that way. The solace, the thought of being alone. No one to bug him. No one to answer to. Just being with himself. To Daryl, he was living the life. He couldn’t ask for anything more. After all, you can never miss what you never had. That’s why he always makes sure that nothing changes with his life. He was never able to adapt to change. The few people he let in, is all that he’ll ever need. Or so he thought. The universe has other plans though.

Daryl works as a mechanic at Dale’s auto shop. He works with a lot of people but only Tyreese was able to get thru to him.  There was something in that bear of a man that he found he can relate to. Tyreese never gave him shit for his last name. Didn’t even see the guy look at him any different than he would any other guy. Tyreese’ is the only dinner invitation he went to. He became friends with his wife, Karen, and grew fond of their toddler, Noah.

Another perk of being a Dixon is that you know your way through the legal system. He never went to law school. Hell no! He grew up seeing his dad and brother get themselves in trouble. From petty theft to Possession of illegal drugs. So in one way or another, he knows what to do when the need arises. He never got into trouble (not Dixon enough, Remember?), but he has seen his father and brother go in and out of prison to even care. For their family, it’s all in a day’s work. That’s where he met Rick. Merle got arrested so much that they just grew accustomed to seeing each other every so often. And Daryl found that Rick is a decent man. He and his wife always invite him to their house but he always declines. He just kept hearing Merle and his father inside his head talking about betrayal or some shit, being friends with a cop. So no. He sees Rick around. Got introduced to his wife and kid, I think Carl was his name. And he saw Lori at the supermarket with a round belly. Guess Rick’s little family is getting bigger. Rick was always there to help him out though. He was the one who introduced him to Dale, landing him the job. For some reason, he knows that he got Rick’s back in any way the cop would need and he also knows that Rick will always have his. Rick is like the anti-Merle and Daryl really needs that in his life. To have someone believe that he can be something better than just his last name.

So when he learned that Merle got himself locked up again, he pretty much saw it coming. He’s brother got in with the newest crowd in their town. He’s been working with this guy that likes to call himself the Governor. Who does that? Call themselves with a title that’s not even legit. But that’s what Merle calls him and that’s all Daryl knows about the guy. So Merle just called him to say he’s locked up for the next six months and that Daryl had to pay the Governor 5 thousand bucks that Merle owed him or else he’ll send someone inside to take care of ole’ Merle. That’s what ticked Daryl off. Here he is, trying to live a clean life. Nothing illegal. Nothing fancy but it was all good. He was getting by. He had a few thousand dollars saved up and then he’s brother would just snatch up his hard-earned money. Sure, he enjoys his work at the auto shop and stitching up cars and motorcycles is not really work for Daryl but sometimes he just wish that he can get out of it. Out of his father’s and brother’s shadow. God knows Merle only remembers him when he needs something. Money most of the time. Or a place to crash. And then, he’ll be gone until the next trouble comes along.

But no matter how pissed at Merle he is, he would still do right by his brother. Merle is blood. He wouldn’t say it out loud but he loves his brother. He’s the only living family he’s got. So, he got his savings from his sock drawer and went on his way. He was about to get out of the building when something crashed into him. A little girl, well sort of. She looked like she was about to cry and if there’s anything Daryl can’t handle, it’s crying little girls. He was about to high tail outta there when she spoke.  “Sorry, I…”, He must have looked frightening because she just stopped mid-sentence and just stared at him. He was met by the biggest, bluest eyes he has ever seen. He suddenly felt uncomfortable. Nobody has ever looked at him like that before. He didn’t know how to react. So, he did what he does best. Get mad and then walk away. “Watch where you’re going, would ya!!” he practically spat.  He didn’t know what it was about the girl that he finds annoying? Maddening? Infuriating? If he was really being honest… Intimidating. It was those blue, innocent, doe eyes. Yeah, definitely those eyes.

 

 

 

 


	3. Bring It On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Encounter.

A week went by without any more drama. Beth got settled in her little apartment. It isn’t much but she made sure that it would feel like home. Right on time too because school is about to start in a week and she still needs to go shopping for books and school supplies. She likes being prepared. She likes everything to be in order. She likes a plan. She likes to know where everything is. Ok, she hasn’t told anyone outside her family circle but Beth has been diagnosed with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. She has it under control though. She isn’t a germaphobe or anything like that. Or at least she was diagnosed early for it to be controlled by medication. But still she likes things tidy and she likes things perfect. That is why what happened with Jimmy came as such a blow for her. She lost her plan. Her vision. Her anchor. And now, she needs to start over. Its better this way, I guess, because if the only character in her life is herself, then that she would be able to control.  
Daryl was able to pay off the governor, giving Merle an extension for his miserable life. At least he won’t be seeing that bastard in another six months. But his little stunt left him with almost no money so he needs to work more hours in the auto shop than he used to. That means, no more hunting trips for the time being. Everything was going back to how Daryl lived his life before that faithful phone call from Merle. One thing changed though. He was so used that he was the only one who lives in his apartment floor that it took him a while to process what his landlord, Ed, told him. He said there is a new tenant in their building and that she chose an apartment on the same floor as Daryl’s. He knows he can’t control it but he would miss the peace and quiet, that’s for sure. Besides, she might not be so bad because it’s been a week and he hasn’t heard or seen anything coming from Apartment 2B. At least he still got his solitude.  
“Hey Daryl, it’s 6pm man, we need to close up.”, Tyreese shouted from Dale’s office. Daryl got wrapped up in his work that he didn’t notice that everyone else aside from him and Ty already closed up their station for the day. “Alright man, let me just clean up.” “You wanna have dinner at home? Karen prepared roast beef. That should be good.” “Thanks man, that does sound good, but I can’t tonight, maybe next time. Say hi to Karen and Noah for me.” “Sure thing brother, if you ever change your mind. Good bye man”. And he left for his truck. Daryl closed up the auto shop and went to his truck. He decided to go by the diner, order take out and just head home. When he got to the diner though, the place was packed and he’s starting to regret saying ”no” to Ty’s invitation for dinner. But aside from his thick head, Daryl has his pride so he would just have to settle for day-old pizza in his refrigerator. He got to his apartment 10 minutes later. He walked up the stairs and his ears were met with music coming from 2B. “Oh no.” he thought. And he thought nothing will ever change. This is not doing his already surly mood any favors.  
“And I……. I hate to see you heart break. I hate to see your eyes get darker as they go but I’ve been there before”. Beth was enjoying listening to her favorite band. She just had the best day. She walked around the neighborhood and it wasn’t half bad. There’s a cozy little coffee shop she can see herself hanging out in and writing her music. There’s also a little book store just around the block where she met Sasha. She was looking for the books she needs for her curriculum when they got into talking. Turns out, Sasha is currently going to The University of Georgia too. They hit it off and Beth found herself agreeing to meet up at The Moonshine Shack later tonight. She’s glad she made a new friend. It’s hard being the newbie. She was dancing around in her kitchen, thinking about what she should have for dinner, singing along with the song. She’s thinking spaghetti sounds good for dinner. She was just preparing the ingredients when she heard the urgent knocking on the door. She wondered who that could be. She hadn’t had the time to get to know her neighbors. Hey, maybe they came to get to know her. This day is getting better and better. She didn’t know anyone in the building but when she opened her door, the person staring back at her was the last man she thought would be knocking on her door. No other than Mr. Rude himself. “Hi, may I…. help you?” She was getting a little scared now. He was just standing there and staring at her. “uhm… sir?” That seemed to get his attention because his face became surly and he said, “Would you keep it down? Some people are trying to rest.” “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t think I had it on too loud.” Beth replied. “Why don’t you turn it off altogether huh?” No way is Beth going to take this. Who does this guy think he is? Coming to her apartment and bossing her around? No. The new Beth would not take this. “Look, I’m sorry that you found my music loud but you don’t have to be rude about it. I said I’ll turn it down, didn’t I?” The guy’s face turned from surly to downright angry. But Beth will not back down. No sir. She got this. “You don’t own the place, girl.” he all but growled. “Well, you don’t either. You know what, no one else is bothered and in my opinion, it’s not even loud enough.” She went to her speakers and turned the volume higher. She didn’t know what it was about the guy but she just has this irresistible urge to piss him off. “We’re the only ones renting the apartment on this floor, princess. But ok. Is this how its gonna be? You don’t know what you’ve gotten yourself into, girl.” He said.“Is that a threat?” She was getting a little bit scared now but she’s not about to show it. “Oh you know it, better watch out girl.” And he turned to walk away. “Bring it on then.” The guy paused and she thought he would come back and push her or something. She can see the tension building up on his shoulder. But he just continued to walk away back to his apartment. That was some encounter. There’s a sense of rejuvenation on the thought that she stood up to a guy twice her size. She couldn’t help but give herself a mental high five. It’s dorky but whatever… She’s a badass now.


End file.
